The present invention relates to the food processing industry, and more particularly to a method and device for mechanically removing meat from a crustacean.
Crustaceans, and particularly crawfish, are a popular foodstuff. For example, it is estimated that seventy-million pounds of crawfish a year are processed in Louisiana alone. While this amount may be impressive, there still exists a much larger, yet unfulfilled, market for crawfish meat. This is primarily due to the inability of the presently known methods of processing crawfish to meet the demand. For example, the majority of the processing of crawfish is still performed by hand. Such manual labor is both slow and expensive. The same is true for processing other types of crustaceans, such as small lobsters and rock shrimp.
There exists, therefore, a need for a method and device for mechanically processing a crustacean which is commercially viable. Such a device should rapidly peel a crawfish while requiring a minimum number of operators, and should be simple and safe enough to be operated by someone with limited technical skills. Such a device should accomodate a wide size range of crawfish while deveining efficiency and removing the meat intact from the shell with high efficiency. Furthermore, the device should meet USDA standards for food processors and have easily replaceable parts.